Net income advanced to 802 million dirhams ($218 million)
from 583 million dirhams a year earlier, the lender said in a
statement today. That beat the 612 million-dirham median
estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Net interest
income and Islamic financing revenue rose 29 percent to 1.2
billion dirhams.

U.A.E. banks are recovering after the global financial
crisis slowed lending, hurt investment banking and led to an
increase in bad loans. National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, the
U.A.E.’s second-biggest bank by assets, today posted a 12
percent increase in first-quarter profit, while First Gulf Bank
PJSC, a lender owned by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, reported
yesterday a 7 percent rise in profit to 935 million dirhams.

Net impairment allowance charges dropped 28 percent to 287
million dirhams from 399 million dirhams a year earlier, ADCB
said in the statement. The ratio of non-performing loans to
gross loans increased to 5.5 percent at the end of March from
4.6 percent at the end of December.